Description

TV's favorite defective detective, Adrian Monk, returns to solve a new batch of baffling mysteries with his trademark wit, wisdom, and hand wipes. Join Emmy- and Golden Globe-winner Tony Shalhoub as the quirky obsessive-compulsive detective in the second season of the widely acclaimed series Monk.
His extensive dossier of phobias may keep him from working on the police force, but Monk's not about to let that stop him from solving crimes. Accompanied by his loyal (and infinitely patient) assistant Sharona (Bitty Schram), by-the-book Captain Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine), and eager-to-please Lieutenant Randall Disher (Jason Gray-Stanford), Monk's unconventional methods may just be what's needed to crack some of San Francisco's most puzzling and unusual cases.

It's Saturday morning at Ashton High School, and the SAT exams have just begun. As the students settle in to their seats, cracking open their exam booklets, everyone is startled by a loud crash and the wail of a car alarm. Rushing to the window, they are shocked to find the body of beloved English teacher Beth Landow strewn across the hood of a car parked at the base of a clock tower. It appears to be a suicide. But school principal Arlene Cassidy isn't so sure. That's why she calls on the services of detective Adrian Monk to investigate. Andrew McCarthy guest stars.

Lawrence Hammond, a high-powered corporate CEO, is driving his wife to a weekend getaway using the directions given by their car's GPS system when the electronic voice goes haywire, leading them not to a resort hotel but to a deserted lot - a lot where a killer lies in wait. Monk quickly realizes that Erin, the CEO's trophy wife, was the killer's primary target. Her husband was shot only once, and survived just long enough to give a cryptic clue: "Girls Can't Eat Fifteen Pizzas." No one knows what it means. Monk pursues the wife angle, and soon discovers that Erin had been having an affair. When Monk sees a sports magazine, he notices that Scott Gregorio, a baseball star, had taken an art class that Erin was also in, and deduces that he was her secret lover.

While on spring break vacation in Mexico, Chip Rosatti, the son of a prominent San Francisco businessman, wins a free skydiving jump. Watching from the ground, two of his friends gaze up in horror as Chip leaps from the plane but fails to open his chute and plummets to his death. When Chip's body is examined at the morgue, local coroner Dr. Madero discovers some perplexing news: Chip Rosatti didn't die from hitting the ground -- rather, he drowned in mid-air. A call from the Mayor of San Francisco sends Monk to the Mexican vacation spot in order to figure out just what happened during that fall.

At a quaint sidewalk cafe, Serge Cluvarias and his young date Ariana sit enjoying a late dinner. Their quiet evening is suddenly interrupted when a mysterious masked figure dressed as a ninja leaps down into the cafe from the rooftops above, and, without warning, shoots Serge dead. The ninja then makes a quick escape by leaping onto the restaurant awning, performing an amazing in-air somersault, and diving into the street to run away. When the police arrive at the scene with Monk in tow, it only takes the obsessive compulsive detective a moment to tie together a handful of clues. Sugar cubes missing from the tables, sawdust on the ground, a somersaulting ninja, and an elephant gun ... is there a circus in town? Lolita Davidovitch guest stars.

As the elderly residents of the Malden Retirement Home relax after dinner, just down the hall, Miles Holling, who is the world's oldest man and just one day shy of his 115th birthday, is being suffocated by a shadowy figure. Captain Stottlemeyer's wife Karen (Glenne Headly), who once profiled Holling in a documentary film she made, suspects that the elderly man's death was no accident. But Captain Stottlemeyer, citing Holling's age, believes he likely died of natural causes. Monk is brought in to settle the dispute, and he agrees with Karen.

Sharona's sister, Gail (Amy Sedaris), is starring in a play bound for New York, and Monk and Sharona are in the audience. During a scene, Gail uses a fake knife to "stab" another actor. The actor gasps and wheezes before falling to the floor - but then doesn't get up. A doctor rushes onstage from the audience and determines that the actor was stabbed in the chest. Gail is immediately arrested and charged with murder. As if things weren't stressful enough for Sharona, her mother arrives for a visit. Sharona tries to push aside her feelings to prepare her mother for the news of Gail's arrest. As expected, Mrs. Fleming is beside herself -- her daughter is being accused of murder! She asks Monk and Sharona to help clear her daughter's name.

It's a quiet afternoon in the San Francisco suburbs. Amanda Babbage chats on the phone as she retrieves her mail, confiding to her friend a recent series of difficulties between she and her brothers. Little does Amanda know that the package she's just carried into the house is in fact a bomb. This oversight is made clear a few moments later when, as she attempts to open the package, it explodes, killing her instantly. Though Monk is in the middle of a personal crisis - his psychiatrist, Dr. Kroger, has left town for vacation, leaving Monk to deal with his obsessive compulsions on his own -- Captain Stottlemeyer nevertheless brings him in to consult on the bombing.

Elliot D'Souza, Chief Financial Officer for a high-powered publishing company, is working out in his private gym alone when suddenly the weight of his barbell overwhelms him and it comes crashing down violently on his throat. He's killed instantly, choked to death by his own workout equipment. Is it just an unusual accident, or something more sinister? Elliot's secretary, Miss Luden, is certain that Dexter Larsen (Gary Cole), the infamous publisher of the gentlemen's magazine Sapphire, somehow orchestrated her boss' death. As it turns out, Elliot was planning to close the doors of the infamous swinging party palace, the Sapphire Mansion. Not satisfied by the results of the police investigation, Miss Luden asks Monk and Sharona to take the case.

A tollbooth operator is killed at work. Across town, a woman is killed in a movie theatre. Those are just two more victims the police have added to the growing number of bizarre homicides that have sweeping the city in recent weeks. Immediately, Monk is suspicious of the details surrounding both murders and by the clues -- or lack thereof -- left at the various crime scenes.

After Nestor and Jose Alverez deliver the morning paper to their most demanding customer, Adrian Monk, they notice someone trying to steal it. While trying to stop the thief, Nestor is pushed to his death. Monk's apartment is soon turned into a hub of disorder and distractions as the police search the crime scene. Monk's nerdy neighbor Kevin stops by to check out the commotion, and also introduces his hot new girlfriend, Vicki. With no crime scene clues and no obvious suspects or motive, Monk is convinced that there must be something in the newspaper that the killer did not want him to see.

An elderly woman wins a cherry pie at a town raffle. Before she can drive home with her prize, a man approaches, demanding she give him the pie. She refuses, so the man kills her and drives away with her body. Captain Stottlemeyer and Lieutenant Disher consider the case a routine carjacking, but Monk suspects there may be more to it. However, before Monk can get too involved, he gets a surprising phone call from his brother Ambrose (John Turturro), who wants to discuss a matter of "life or death." The brothers haven't spoken in seven years, ever since Ambrose failed to contact Monk after the death of Monk's wife Trudy.

Monk and Sharona are called to the home of Susan Molloy, the ex-wife of popular TV star Brad Terry. Once there, they learn that Susan was stabbed inside the house while Brad was out front dealing with the paparazzi -- that is, until everyone heard Susan's screams. The evidence points to a break in, but Monk thinks otherwise. Monk and Sharona pay a visit to the set of Brad's hit TV show, "Crime Lab S.F." There, they learn that the show is celebrating its 100th episode, which in turn means a VERY big payday for Brad -- a payday he's likely unwilling to share with his ex. Monk thinks he's got him, but when the TV star volunteers for a lie detector test and passes with flying colors, it's Monk whose been had.

An elderly woman is strapped to her chair and kidnapped from her home by two masked intruders who leave a spray-painted lightning bolt on her wall. Captain Stottlemeyer and Lieutenant Disher immediately suspect a 1970's radical group, the Lightning Brigade. Dissatisfied with the police investigation, the victim's granddaughter, Julie Parlo (Rachel Dratch), asks for Monk's help. In exchange, Julie, a law student, promises to get Monk reinstated to the police force with a clever legal strategy. Eager to get back on the force, Monk agrees to help.

After a sniper's bullet kills a tow truck driver, the truck careens into Karen Stottlemeyer's car as she is making her way to work, sending her to the hospital. As Captain Stottlemeyer grapples with the possibility of losing his wife, Lieutenant Disher speculates that an ongoing local union dispute may be behind the shooting. Eager to find the person responsible for nearly killing his wife, Stottlemeyer confronts union leader Harry Bolston at a union rally. Bolston denies any wrongdoing, and Monk believes him, suspecting something just isn't right. But Stottlemeyer's clouded judgment has made him obsessed with nailing Bolston and the union.

San Francisco antique dealer Raymond Toliver reads aloud from an old, yellowing confession written by 19th century prospector Joshua Skinner. It describes how Skinner murdered his mining partner Gully Watson during the gold rush of 1849, built an enormous house on the site of the gold strike, then hid Watson's share of the mother lode -- a cache worth millions that has never been found to this day. "Where is the gold?" Stemple's letter asks. "The answer is in my journals." As Toliver ponders aloud how anyone could murder their partner for a cache of gold, his own partner, Dalton Padron, bludgeons him to death with a sewing machine. A few days later, Monk is entreated by a very drunk Lieutenant Disher to look into the whirlwind nuptials of his unglamorous, 50-something mother, Maria, to a dark, mysterious and much younger antique dealer named Dalton Padron -- whom Disher doesn't trust.

Just 45 minutes away from his scheduled execution, death row inmate Ray Kaspo dies in his cell from a poisoned last meal. Monk is brought in to investigate, but turns down the case - until he receives a call from his old nemesis, Dale "The Whale" Biederbeck (Tim Curry), who is locked up in the same prison as the murdered Kaspo. It seems that Dale is a prime suspect in the murder, and he needs Monk to find the real killer in order to get the authorities off his back. In exchange for Monk's help, Dale promises to provide information relating to the death of Monk's wife, Trudy.

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Customer Reviews

good show, but...

by
gilligan

monk is great, but if monk was real, he would not appreciate a 17-episode season; he'd like 10 or 20. thank you for your patience. over.

Great Episodes!!!

by
Jnorrisclay

All of the episodes in season two are great! My favorite episode in this season is Mr. Monk Goes Back to School. It was hard to figure out how the murderer did it! I am excited they added seasons 2 and 3 on itunes because Monk is a great show. Tony Shalhoub is funny and clever and each crime is full of mystery. There are some really funny and clever episodes on this season, so be sure to check them out!!

It's MONK!

by
megles

I don't like CSI, or other tv shows where it is all about the gadgets. Monk reminds me Sherlock Homes, it's elemantry my dear!